To get that dream job, you’re probably going to have to go through an interview. But to get to that interview, you’re going to have to have a resume. Here are three tips that will improve your resume and get you to more interviews.
TIP #1 – The hiring company tells you want they want in the Job Description.
We’ve had people send off the same resume to 50-100 different jobs and wonder why they aren’t getting hits. They would be better off to target their resume and send it to the 10 jobs which match their skills.
The Job Description might say, “REQUIRED: Strong mechanical & electrical background. Must be able to maintain and troubleshoot mechanical systems (e.g., gear boxes, chains, sprockets, motors, seals, bearings), and Electrical systems (installation, starters, fuses, contacts, relays, frequency drive, PLC’s).”
There! They just gave you the secret to what they are looking for. We’ve had candidates that wrote a half a page of verbiage explaining how they were a third level black belt in karate and apply for that very job. Wrong!
Here’s what they should have done (provided that it’s true!).
- Have a strong mechanical & electrical background.
- Able to maintain, troubleshoot and repair mechanical systems such as gear boxes, chains, sprockets, motors, seals, and bearings.
- Responsibilities included the maintenance and installation of electrical systems to include the installation of starters, fuses, contacts, relays, frequency drive, and PLC’s.
With those bullet points, you just gave them exactly what they are looking for. Ding! Ding! Ding! Winner!
TIP #2 – A resume should use bullet points! A resume is not a story. It’s not your biography. It’s not a diary.
We have seen resumes like the following: “I really enjoyed working at ABC Company because the work was challenging, and I had to do a lot of different things on a daily basis.” That might drag on for another five or six painful sentences in one huge paragraph. Wrong!
Two items on that.
One – the human brain gets bored quickly, especially when you see dozens of these daily. The mind will scan the first line or two and then skip to the next paragraph. To prevent that use bullet points of no more than two lines. A bullet point doesn’t have to be a complete sentence with subject and verb.
Two – What does that tell the reader about the Job Description? Nothing! The hiring company told you what they wanted, and you gave them a short story. If they said, “REQUIRED: Must stand on head while chewing gum”, then you put (assuming it’s true):
- Proficient in standing on head and chewing gum at the same time.
Ding! Ding! Ding! Winner!
TIP #3 – Avoid looking like your Job Hopping. If you bounce from job to job, then find a job and stop bouncing.
But if you worked for the same company, don’t use separate job titles and dates every time you changed jobs. The reviewer will look at the job title and the dates. It’s better to have one entry with the all-inclusive dates then to have separate entries and separate dates.
Don’t put part-time jobs unless they relate to the requirements. The reviewer doesn’t have time to look and see that the candidate had one main job from 2012 – Present and six part-time jobs of varying lengths.
Those are the tips. Remember the purpose of the resume is to get you to the interview. The interview will get you the job. If the resume doesn’t communicate correctly, it doesn’t meet its primary objective. Follow these tips and you will get more interviews. That’s the main purpose and the ticket success.
